The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1887-07-26

most powerful in voting strength o.
all the material interests of the couH
try, practical men are not likely tt
trouble themselves much about g
movement which, like Henry Georges
proposes to concentrate the burden Of
taxation upon land values. Its scope
is naturally limited to the large cities
and while there it may make some
and bother party managers, yet nc
one expects it to develop political
issue. Hence its doctrines receive lit
tie attention from the general public,
Mr.. George is, however, a writer OF
sufficient ability to merit thoughtful
consideration of his arguments, and
Professor Harris has performed pub
lie service in the study he has given
to the. subject, the results of which
are embodied in an article in the July
number Of the Forum.
The assumption from which Mr..
George proceeds is that the rich are
growing richer and the poor poorer
under the present social arrangements
This is q statement which every in
vestigation made has contradicted.
Professor Harris goes into the subject
in detail, showing that even in En-
gland the number of persons with
moderate incomes-the middle class,
as it is called-has increased three
fold since 1850, while the number of
those with less than $3.50 a year has
relatively decreased, and meanwhile a
dollar will buy five times what it
would thirty-seven years ago. "The
poor are not getting poorer and the
rich richer, and wages are
not tending toward a bare
living minimum. He shows, too,
that while land values have hardly
doubled in great Britain in eighty
years, houses have appreciated in
value more than seven times, and
miscellaneous items of wealth more
than six times. Rent, too, has In
creased only in proportion to the in
crease reproductive power.
The actual value of lands in the
United States, according to Professor
Harris, is less than 100000 900, 900.
Rent at four per cent, "a fair esti-
mate" would give but $500, 900, 900.
This would give an average rental
charge of two cents a day for each
person in the country, or about IS a
year. Taxes at present amount an
nually to about $500, 100000. The
exclusive taxation of land at anything
like fair rate would only yield a lit
tie over half the country's present ex-
penses. The annual income of the
country is thought to be about ST.
300, ZOO, 600. This is 40 cents a day,
or $146 year for each inhabitant.
Taxation takes one-tenth of the aver
age income. 1.-TWO cents a Cay
would not better much the condition
of the average inhabitant."
As matters stand, there being one
one Garner of wages to every % per-
sons, all laborers who get over s1.35
per diem receive more than if the an
uual production were divided equally
among all who draw per diem with.
out allowing anything for capital and
land. Skilled labor usually gets
more than this, and unskilled industry
almost as much but the farming |
according to the professor, |
get frem twenty to eighty per cent
less than the average. Agriculture
could not afford to stand an increase
of taxation to the extent of nearly
fifty per cent, which, according to
Professor Harris, would have to be
borne were Mr.. Georges theory of
taxation put in practice.
The effect of MIR. Henry Georges
plan would, therefore, be to concen-
trate taxation upon the. interest least
able to bear it. He has a pretty
fancy of the way industry would be
by the exertions of owners
In dovolor afI <ba ,,,ofk IN rr.nr~ $500; |